Scotland’s first wave energy technology development body Wave Energy Scotland will receive a total of £14.3 million over the next 13 months, Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced.
The Scottish Government is supporting Wave Energy Scotland with a budget of £1.3 million in the current financial year and £13 million in 2015/16.
The £1.3 million budget for this financial year covers the costs of establishing the new entity and the costs of the acquisition of intellectual property and other assets from Pelamis Wave Power.
The £13 million budget for 2015/16 will allow WES to offer five funding calls worth £10.5 million to address a range of technology priorities, including power-take off systems, control systems, and moorings and foundations. It will also enable WES to recruit a small staff team – around 10 to 12 employees – and an industry-led advisory group. There will be an open and competitive recruitment process for staff and a call for the advisory group in March 2015.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise head of Offshore Development, Tim Hurst, has been appointed interim director of Wave Energy Scotland. Announcements are due to be made soon on the first project calls and the recruitment of core staff for WES.
Wave Energy Scotland has already awarded its first contract to a group of 12 former Pelamis Wave Power employees, led by the company's former CEO Richard Yemm, to capture the knowledge of the Pelamis technology development path for the wider benefit of the wave energy sector.
Ewing said: “We have adopted a completely new approach to funding the sector. It is one that will foster collaborative research and development and will encourage technology developers to work with large engineering companies, academics and each other to address shared challenges. As Professor Stephen Salter, the founding father of wave energy, said, “Developers need to be in alliance with each other against the hazards of the sea rather than fighting one another for inadequate funding."